Little Pleasures

Small spaces do a lot with a little.

A A A Comments By Michael Paglia Thursday, Jun 5 2008

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Schorr has done a wide variety of things over the years, ranging from geometric abstractions to photo-based images about the intersection of politics and television. But as heterogeneous as it is, her art always seems to trace its roots back to either pop or minimalism, with a twist of neo-dada thrown in for good measure. For these latest pieces, Schorr has used felt-tip markers on transparent sheets of Mylar, some of them clear and others tinted in various colors. Typically, her drawings are geometric abstractions filled in expressively with the felt-tips. Some of the completed pieces — all untitled — are almost vaporous, such as the ones hung in a vertical stack on the wall facing the front door. Schorr has put the drawings in clear plastic box frames so that the light gets in behind them, illuminating them from both the front and the back. Also, because they're attached to the uppermost surface of the plastic box frame, they seem to be floating parallel to the wall, a few inches away from it. It's a neat effect.

Carpenter has continued looking at junkyards and finding abstract compositions in tight details. A couple of them, like the one of an old pickup truck, were different from the rest because you could make out what the subject was. But overall, the photos in this show are thoroughly abstract and pure Carpenter in style. Using digital programs, she tones up the colors in some, like "Molten Vessel," but otherwise doesn't alter the shots from her camera by Photoshopping or any other manipulation. It's amazing that she's able to get the range of effects she does when walking through the junkyard, and I thought "Metal Aspens" was really something. In this photo, Carpenter has transformed a stack of rusting bumpers, through tight cropping, into what looks like a grove of trees in a real fool-the-eye trick. What a clever take on the Western landscape.

Untitled oil on canvas by Ania Gola-Kumor.

"Molten Vessel," by Barbara Carpenter, digital color photo.

Details

Through July 5, Sandra Phillips Gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive, 303-573-5969, www.thesandraphillipsgallery.com.Through June 15, Spark Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive, 720-889-2200, www.sparkgallery.com.For a complete slide show of these exhibits, go to slideshow.westword.com.

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This week, I've taken a walk through a tiny commercial gallery and a modest alternative space that are part of the venerable and longstanding tradition of venues that do a lot with very little. A similar spot, Michele Mosko Fine Art, is examined in Artbeat.

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